As you guys know, I am super excited about a publishing career, so I decided to head to the LBF a couple weeks ago to put myself ‘out there’, and basically show publishers that, well, I exist.
If I had to describe the fair in one word: crazy. There are tons to see, people to meet and seminars to attend; in three days, it’s almost too short! It had roughly 1,500 exhibitors, split into various sections – trade, children’s publishing, and so on. There were over 200 seminars to attend on subjects covering all aspects of publishing. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to wander around for the day with your mouth open, amazed at all the publishers and areas of publishing you were never aware of, but not actually doing anything constructive.
The thing is I have a problem with being organised, so I had a plan. Here’s the short version, because I don’t want to freak you out with my borderline OCD:
- Know in advance who to meet and when.
- Look for, and approach, some potential publishers that I’d like to work for, and hand out business cards. (Note: you may need to practise your opening marketing chat first – in case, like me, selling yourself is not your best skill…)
- Attend some interesting seminars, either directly relating to my areas of interest or to something completely new.
- Check out the stand that I had commissioned for the APE.
The sheer scale of the book fair and the enormous variety in the publishing and technology on offer made me think about my role in the (much) wider world of publishing, and helped me to feel a renewed commitment. It can be hard to remember the bigger picture when you spend most days at home doing your coursework!
I found it was better to approach smaller publishers, who I found were much more interested in me and the skills I had to offer.The warmest welcome I received was from Quirkbooks’ Publicity Manager. I loved having coffee and discussing Pride, Prejuce and Zombies with this delightfully quirky lady whose hair reminded me of Cailtin Moran’s… But I’m getting sidetracked. I had nonetheless the opportunity to meet all the big five HR managers, and more. That was a brilliant opportunity to get direct feedback on my CV, how I presented myself, and tips on how to develop certain skills! I won’t drop names, but I found interesting how two of the big five were actually interested in me and liked my enthusiasm, and how another just told me to drop publishing altogether! I reckon I am just too stubborn to do that.
Existential Crisis
The publishers were mostly there to discuss rights and new book deals, and it definitely triggered a new interest in rights in me. As I wandered around the Olympia, I could distinctly hear a mixture of English, French, Spanish, German, Polish… and some languages I simply couldn’t identify! I loved the idea of being able to combine my passion for books and for languages, so what I got out of the fair was a fairly unexpected new interest in publishing rights.
There is a lot more to talk about, and probably not enough words. Would I go next year? I think I would – armed with a better idea of what to say to publishers to break the ice, and definitely again arranging some meetings – with publishers, friends or authors – in advance.
Booksy 